Careers360

How to
Prepare for
GATE 2015
A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Contents
GATE: Introduction  3

About Gate 2015  4

Winning Mantras 5

Goals6

Scheduling and Timetables 7

Dos and Donts 8

Syllabus Management 9

Resources and Books 10

Mock Tests/ Sample Papers 11

Changing GATE Preparation for Online Tests/Calculators 12

Time Management 13

Other Useful Links  14

Must Read 15

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Introduction

T
he Graduate Admission Test in Engineering (GATE) is
an All-India level examination conducted by the IITs
for admissions to Masters/Direct PhD in the IITs,
IISc Bangalore and other universities/ institutes in India or
Abroad. In addition, an increasing number of Public Sector
Units (PSUs) have been announcing recruitment at the entry
levels of their management cadres through GATE exam. At
the time of publication of this book, a total number of 15 PSUs
had already announced the recruitment through GATE 2015
with more to come in the next few months

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A Career is a Life
About GATE 2015
T
o be conducted by IIT Kanpur, GATE 2015 has some
new features such as a complete online application
process, a validity of the scores for a period of three
years and the use of online calculator in the online tests.
Some known facts about GATE 2015 exam:
There are a total of 22 papers under the GATE exam for
the various disciplines of Engineering.
The tests are completely online.
Some are conducted in multiple sessions as the numbers
of applicants are comparatively more for these disciplines
than the others.
A quick look at the GATE 2014 statistics:
A total of 10, 33,625 candidates have registered for GATE
2014 and 8, 89,156 candidates (86.02%) have actually
appeared for the exam.
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How to Prepare for GATE 2015
A total of 1,49,694 (16.84%) candidates will be receiving
the scorecards
GATE 2014 for all the papers was conducted in 9 sessions
spread over 3 weekends, starting from 2nd February 2014
and ending on 2nd March 2014.
GATE 2014 was conducted in over 660 exam centres
spread over 26 states and union territories of the country.
Known to be one of the toughest entrance exams in the
country, GATE 2015 can be cracked with the right approach
and dedication. Students, who are serious about this goal,
will find the preparation guidelines and tips in this book
to be useful if they follow them. These tips and guidelines
have been compiled from the various toppers and faculty
interviews conducted by Careers360 for the advantage of the
average GATE aspirant.
A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Winning Mantras for

GATE Preparation:

GATE is an open exam with emphasis on scores. Unlike

other exams like CAT where academics and other criteria
play a role, anyone who scores well in GATE can avail
admissions to the M.Tech programmes at the IITs and
leading institutes on an equal footing.

Your college or other background wont matter if you crack

GATE. Make this an opportunity to change the rules of
your life in terms of your career!

Any other opinion shouldnt matter as long as yours says

that you CAN and WILL! Its hard work to start with and if
you join determination and dedication to it, there is no one
who can stop you on the path to success.

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Goals:
It is very important to set up goals and be single minded
about them.

For an exam like GATE, the only Goal has to be GATE

and GATE only.

If you are a student in your final year, this may be tough

but not impossible.

Make your Goal your driving force and you can crack the
GATE exam provided you back it up with the needed study.

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A Career is a Life
Scheduling and Timetables:
It is commonly mentioned by many of the toppers and
coaching institutes that one must set up a strict regime,
schedule the day such that no time is wasted on any other
thing except your studies.
Now this doesnt mean that you should become a book
worm. A certain amount of activity that relaxes you is
needed every day.
A planned approach works wonders simply because it
allows you to know where you stand, how much you have
on hand and what is still left to be done.
A timetable or schedule gives direction to your efforts as
well as allows you to account for every single minute of
your time that you invest in the GATE exam preparation.
Now the big question is how exactly do you
prepare this schedule or timetable?
First, you need to take a look at the time left for the exam.
GATE 2015 will start on January 31, 2015 a tad early com-
pared to the previous years.
This means you have around 4 months to complete the
GATE Syllabus. Get ready for the hectic roller coaster ride
to the GATE Exam with a proper schedule and adhere to
it strictly.
Mock Tests are extremely important. They help you
improve your speed; know where you stand in terms of
your preparation. Experts and Toppers have emphasized
that students must keep at least 30 to 45 days for only
mock tests. This has to be just before the GATE exam
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How to Prepare for GATE 2015
when you must have completed studying the syllabus and
need to test yourself.
This leaves you with 2.5 months to 3 months for the study
part. Now schedule your time as per the topics in the sub-
jects you have in the GATE exam.
One way is to tackle two subjects and handle them togeth-
er. One that is a strong point where too much of hard work
is not required and the other which needs to be started
from scratch.
Allot a few weeks, maybe 2 to 3, to complete the subject
and move on to the practice part.
The focus should be on problem solving. GATE is mainly
tough because it forces candidates to analyze each ques-
tion before answering and that comes when you are well-
versed in the concepts and problem solving. Rote learning
is a strict no go.
A better plan can be made with the help of the previous
years papers. Most of the toppers and expert GATE Fac-
ulty emphasize on the need to solve the GATE Previous
Year Papers. Generally a student who does that success-
fully does well in the exam.
Check the GATE Previous year papers and make your
timetable and stick to it religiously.
Ensure you leave some time to activities that help you
relax. There is a limit to study too. The brain can assimilate
only so much. So make some time for activities like listen-
ing to music, taking a walk, reading a book, etc.
A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Dos and Donts:

Try to solve problems as you go by. It helps you think of

methods and means of solving on your own.

Try learning from the mistakes made in each and every test
/mock papers and remember not to repeat them.

Make your own path of learning. Take help from the coach-
ing institutes but remember that you are the best judge of
what works for you.

Start from easier questions and progress to tough and

tougher questions. This is a great confidence booster if you
make progress in answering them fairly.

Once in a while, stop and reflect. Retrospect on the pro-

gress made, mistakes done and take steps to improve
immediately.

Do not let bad results in the early stages bog you down. It is
natural for everyone to be at this stage. Remember Rome
was not built in a day.
Set up a time limit for yourself and try working within this.
Your speed will improve with such techniques. Remember
GATE is also about speed of answering.
It is imperative that as you progress and get better, you
should be level headed and not let it go to your head. In
fact it should spur you to work more hard and get close to
perfection.
Try and be positive. That is the best way forward. Nothing
is concrete till the exam day.

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Syllabus Management:

One of the common questions asked is what comes in

GATE exam? The entire syllabus of the four-year under-
graduate course of engineering. Now that seems too much,
but there are means to tackle this.

An analysis of the GATE Papers from the previous years

shows the majority of questions coming in from the Sec-
ond and the Third years of B.Tech /B.E.

Even if the GATE syllabus is the same as the B.Tech/B.E

syllabus, the difference comes in the approach to the
exams. While GATE is entirely objective, the B.Tech/ B.E
syllabus is more subjective in nature.

That is why the GATE Previous year papers should be

used to formulate your GATE Preparation Plan.

The B.E/B.Tech syllabus forms the backbone of the GATE

study as strong concepts always will make problem solving
easier, but the way it is managed makes the difference to
your GATE Preparation.

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Resources and Books:

Which Books to
check? Text Books and
Others?

The engineering text books are fine for concept develop-

ment, but for GATE preparation specialized books are
definitely needed.

A large number of students buy material from coaching

institutes as these are aimed to cover most topics in one
book.

There are a large number of good books available in the

market though it is perceived that both the experts- GATE
faculty and most of the toppers, favour the books by foreign
authors.

There are many blogs, interviews and articles that cover

the list of books that are a must read for each discipline of
GATE exam.

Check the list and make your pick. You can get them from
your library, buy them first hand or even at the second hand
stalls that operate in most towns and cities for students.

Dont forget to make your Ready Reckoner notes. Make

your Ready Reckoner notes while studying the subject in
detail and jot down the tips also. These are useful during
the last days of preparation to refresh and do not need
much time to go through.

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Mock Tests / Sample Papers

Any topper, GATE qualified candidate, expert GATE fac-

ulty will tell you that mock tests and sample papers are the
most vital link for GATE Preparation.

It is advisable to practice on the sample papers/mock tests

almost 30 to 45 days prior to the GATE exam.

Most imperative is to compulsorily practice and solve the

GATE previous year papers. Most of the syllabus is cov-
ered in these papers and students will get an idea about the
kind of questions to expect.

Speed is drastically improved while practicing these mock

tests.

Time Management comes easily with practice on these

papers.

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Changes in GATE
Preparation for Online
Tests/ Calculators:

From 2013 onwards GATE exam has been slowly con-

verted to a completely online process.

The year 2014 saw all papers online, application process

online.

Carrying it a step further, GATE 2015 will even have

online calculators, which means you will not be allowed to
carry a calculator inside the exam centre.

Doing mock tests is crucial but doing them online is more

important.

Many students have lost out on their marks as they had not
been prepared for the online exam environment.

So it is advisable that you should practice as much as you

can online too to get familiar with the online test pattern
as well as the online calculator.

Enroll for an online test series to make the most of the

online experience and make yourself familiar with the
online test environment.

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Time Management:
One of the most important factors in the GATE exam is the
time management.

No amount of emphasis on its importance is sufficient and

students, who realize this and incorporate it in their GATE
Preparation, are very much successful.

Time Management is to be heeded in every aspect; be it the

preparation, schedule or the actual exam.

For the preparation part, the timetables and adherence

take care of the time management.

For the exam part, the mock tests allow for an understand-
ing of the time management during the actual exam.

It is important to learn to improve your speed. Not just

that, there should be a plan as to what to attempt first, how
to tackle difficult questions, and whether to tackle the easy
questions first or the tough ones.

Our bet would be on the easier ones. Simple. They are easy
and can be done faster leaving more time for the tough
ones.

Solving the easier questions also boosts your confidence

and that reflects in the difficult question tackling part.

Hope the guidelines and tips are useful for your GATE 2015 Preparation! Careers360 wishes you
all the best in the GATE 2015 exam!

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Useful Links for GATE 2015:

All you need to know about GATE 2015

M.Tech Admissions 2015

PSU Recruitment Through GATE 2015

GATE 2014 Official Website

Follow us on Facebook for all the latest updates

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A Career is a Life How to Prepare for GATE 2015

Must Read for GATE 2015 Preparation:

GATE 2015 Preparation Tips- Vishvadeep Gothi, Subject Matter Expert, CSE, THE GATE ACADEMY

GATE 2014 Topper Interview- Ankit Goyal (EE AIR 1)

GATE 2015 Preparation Tips and Guidelines- Nitin Rakesh Prasad, Director, THE GATE ACADEMY

GATE 2015 Preparation Tips and Guidelines from Jitendra Sinha Director GATE Forum

GATE 2015 Preparation Tips from Sumeet Kumar Sar Faculty (ECE), GATE forum

GATE 2014 Topper Interview- Saurabh Sarda (AIR 3- CSE)

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